Tree Planting and Care

2. Wait and See

If a valuable tree appears to be a borderline case, resist the temptation to simply cut the tree down and be done with it. In such cases, it may be best to stand back for a while and think it over. Remember that time is on your side. After careful pruning of broken branches, give the tree some time to recover. A final decision can be made later.

Some examples:
Easy Does It Resist the temptation to prune too heavily. Remember that the tree will need all the foliage it can produce in order to make it through the next growing season. Remove only the damaged limbs, wait and see what happens. How to repair and prevent future damage
Hold Off A healthy mature tree can recover even when several major limbs are damaged. With large trees, a professional arborist should be brought in to assess damage on a borderline situation, and to safely accomplish needed pruning and branch removal.

Don't Try to Do It All Alone

Some of your trees may have damage that's too close to call, or may have hidden damage. To help with such questions, a tree professional may be needed to help you decide what to do about your trees. Don't hire just anyone who shows up at your door following a storm. Look for qualified arborists in the phone book or by contacting or city forester.